Early Childhood Intervention

At Ben's last doctor appointment I mentioned that I thought his speech was delayed. He probably says about 15 words and has a couple two word phrases. His brother can say around 75 words and puts two to three word phrases together. The doctor said that he wasn't all that concerned, that to him it sounded like Austin might be a little advanced and that Ben was probably right in line, but he would call and have Early Childhood Intervention come to evaluate him. Well, that time has come. They will be here tomorrow morning at 8:30am to check on my little man. What should I expect? I was told that the visit would last about an hour and that they would mostly be interviewing my husband and I while observing how Ben goes about his day. I'm very anxious about the visit. So much so that I can't sleep. I am worried that something could be wrong and that if I would have caught it earlier, he would be progressing more.

The boys will both be having their tonsils and adenoids removed on July 20th. When we went in to see the ENT we were told that they needed to come out sooner than later. I'm nervous about that too. Ben isn't a big ice cream eater, so I'm not sure what he will eat! I imagine that they will give me paperwork that lists what they can and can't have, but can anyone share with me what they fed their kiddo's when the had their tonsils removed?

Thanks for listening. I think I feel a little better just from typing it!

 

Deep breaths Momma!!! :hug: My boys graduated from EI-twice! It's a wonderful program. It really is. I didn't catch your boys age... but at the boys 12 month appt, the pedi was asking about their speech. They really only had about three words-total. And mama and dada were two of them-but not in the right context. Services started around 18 months, and by age 2, they tested out-they were within the normal range. And when they were first tested(at 18 mths), they tested at a 7/8 month old's level.

With our EI, when they came to test the boys-eventhough it was for speech-they still tested all the other disciplines-gross motor, fine motor, cognitive, etc. It was a good hour long. And then they "graded" them based on a scale of how they "performed." I can't remember where they had to be, but I want to say 30% delay was the cutoff, but it might be 25% now. If he qualifies-great! If not, and you are still concerned-you can ask them things you can do to help him along.

What I can think of-for you to work with him-is to constantly talk to him, enunciate. Have him look at you as you say each word. Constant repetition. Get a book and point out simple pictures and say the beginning sound over and over again. Same thing with puzzles. If you are reading a book, point to a ball, for example, and say, "Ball. B...b....b....ball." Keep saying it. And don't turn the page until he says it(once he gets the hang of it). It's a lot of repetition. I also did flashcards too. Don't beat yourself up!! There are so many wonderful services out there, EI being one of them, that if he needs some help now-he'll be on his way in no time! Good luck tomorrow and let us know how it all goes!

As for tonsils removed, no experience here, but I'm guessing ice cream, popsicles, jello, and pudding. Soup maybe too?

 

My kids still have their tonsils, but I had mine out when I was 22. I remember that ice cream was too thick and that popsicles were much easier to eat. Kids bounce back much faster than adults, so it's good they are getting them done early. Good luck!

My Annelise is being speech evaluated next week. Good luck with that as well! I'm sure it will go fine.

ETA: My girls have had adenoids removed and that went VERY smoothly. By that afternoon we couldn't even tell they'd had surgery. So that part of your boys surgery probably won't be a big deal.

 

My kids have been with EI for speech for a year. Honestly the evaluation is great either way, as you get a good idea of where they stand, whether it's for speech, social development, gross motor skills etc... It's really not that bad, they just play with the kids a bit and ask you questions about what they do and don't do yet... Let us know how it goes!

For food, you can try smoothies, applesauce, soup, milk shakes... good luck!

 

Don't stress about EI at all! They are fantastic and the evaluation is not a big deal. We had our oldest evaluated for speech and he didn't qualify. He was delayed but not enough, so they gave us some tips and things to work on with him. It was reassuring to know that he wasn't that delayed and, sure enough, he caught up. We then had our 2nd evaluated for gross motor and she did qualify. She started walking at 18 mos and, coincidentally, started EI about the same time. They worked with her for about a year, and I learned a lot. Then, with the twins, we had EI right off the bat since my DS has Down syndrome. His twin, my DD, wasn't walking by 15 mos and my DS's PT said she'd qualify, so we had her evaluated and she was in for 6 mos for PT. She caught up so quickly! So, it's all good...lots of great info, reassuring to know either that there is no problem or that you were right to be concerned and get help early. It's a win-win!

Good luck and try to get some sleep!

 

I just typed a big long response, but got kicked out!!! Anyways... Thanks to everyone for responding. You all made me feel so much better about everything. Ben qualifies for their services based on failing nutrition, vision and hearing. He failed nutrition due to having to take Miralax for constipation. He failed vision and hearing because he had viral meningitis when he was 3 weeks old. I have to get his hearing checked by the ENT (which I can do when we go in on the 14th for their pre-op) and have his eyes checked by an opthamologist. The case worker, a speech therapist and the nutritionist are coming on July 30th to see if he qualifies for anything else. She said that his speech problems could be because he might have some hearing loss due to the meningitis.

Thanks again for everything. I am so thankful to have found this website. It has been a God send!

 

When Jon had his tonsils and adenoids out, we were told to avoid all milk products for the first few days. He lived on ice pops, and jello (he wouldn't and still won't eat soup)